Ruffled Feathers
by Ravynsword
Summary: Sequel to 'As the Raven Flies'. It's time to face the music. Fourth in the White Ravens series.


Title:Ruffled Feathers  
Author:Ravynsword  
Rating:PG (angst)  
  
Disclaimer:Don't own 'em. Would have more fun if I did.   
No money being made, just for entertainment.  
  
Summary:Now that the secrets are out, it's time to face the music.  
Sequel to "As the Raven Flies"  
  
// Indicates thoughts  
^^^^^^ Brackets memories or flashbacks  
  
****  
"I need more bandages," called out one of the infirmary staff. He was working to bandage a cut that Sam had gained during the fight in the throne room. As more supplies were handed to him, he turned to the woman on the gurney. "Major, if you won't sit still, we WILL have to restrain you. I need to treat your injury."  
  
Sam Carter briefly stopped her attempt to crane her neck and check on her teammates to glare at the medic. "Just wrap it up and let me go check on the others," she ordered.  
  
"Sam, I give the orders in here," gently chided Janet as she approached the gurney. She knew that SG-1 was closer than most other teams in the SGC and were almost impossible to deal with until they had checked in on each other. At the rebuke, Sam settled down. Barely.   
  
****  
  
"There doesn't appear to be any sign of extensive trauma, just moderate abrasions and contusions," Doctor Frasier told Raven. "You should be clear to leave here in about twenty-four hours."  
  
"Why the delay, Doctor?" demanded Raven.  
  
"You've had a severe concussion recently and I don't want to risk missing signs of a recurrence." Raven, settled back on the bed, quietly grumbling about know-it-all medics.  
  
****  
  
Just under an hour later, General George Hammond looked around at the diverse group sitting in the briefing room. On one side of the table sat SG-1, his flagship team. Rarely had he seen them looking this worse for wear. He had heard from the infirmary that Colonel O'Neill's ribs were taped up, Major Carter had bandages on her forehead and her left arm, Daniel Jackson had one wrist bandaged, and even Teal'c looked a little gray. Across from them sat most of the White Ravens that had arrived the day before. Their leader, Raven, was in the infirmary for observation while the remaining members had various cuts and bruises from their outing.  
  
"Colonel, is your team up to this debriefing?" asked George Hammond.  
  
"Yes, sir, I believe we are," answered O'Neill. No one missed the fatigue in his voice, least of all him. He had decided to push through the debriefing to get it over with as quickly as possible. First, he wanted to corner Phantom and find out how they had ended up as the retrieval team and second, Daniel was impatient to get to the infirmary. Whether it was to make sure Raven was well or to chew her out for keeping this from him, Jack wasn't sure.  
  
"Can you tell me what happened during the original mission?"  
  
"We went through the gate in search of SG-5. The MALP was still near the gate and didn't appear to be damaged. As we moved out from the gate, we were ambushed by a group of Jaffa with helmets we haven't seen before. Apparently the System Lord in charge was named Pluto."  
  
At this point, Daniel interrupted, "Apparently he decided to use the Roman pantheon for himself and his queen. The inscriptions and décor all echo the Persephone/Proserpine myth set."  
  
Jack resumed the narrative at that point. "The long and short of it was that SG-5 arrived on planet just after Pluto did and he wiped them out. Between when SG-5 was executed and we arrived, he had decided on a new plan of action. The Goa'uld was intending to use two members of SG-1 as hosts and return to Earth to destroy us from the inside. We had been brought back to the throne room for that purpose when the Ravens arrived on the scene." At this he gestured toward the other side of the table.  
  
Phantom looked at O'Neill and then the general. After each one had nodded, she continued the report. "Upon arrival through the gate, we saw no hostiles, however your probe equipment had extensive damage. Shortly after spreading out, a group of Jaffa entered the clearing. Using the zat'nik'a'tel weapons issued by the SGC, we terminated all but the two giving orders. Those two we stunned and subsequently persuaded to reveal the deployment of men and equipment in the opposition's base.   
  
Puma and Peregrine replaced the entrance sentries as the remainder of the team entered the structure. Following the information provided by the SGC and the Jaffa, we located the holding cells after SG-1 had been removed from them. We continued on and located the throne room.   
  
On the approach to that location, we had an opportunity to replace two more guards with Cougar and Coyote. They entered the throne room and took stock of the situation. When the enemy Jaffa detached the restraints on Major Carter and Doctor Jackson, the order was given to move in. During the ensuing engagement, both System Lords were terminated as well as the immediate guards.   
  
At that point, Raven, Phoenix, Cougar, and Coyote remained behind on mop-up detail as the rest of the unit escorted SG-1 to the gate. After setting explosives, the clean-up members of the team arrived with transportation. From that point, General, you know what occurred."  
  
"Very well, dismissed," said the general. The White Ravens were unsure what the expression on the older man's face meant, but they weren't in any great hurry to find out. O'Neill, on the other hand, knew that look only too well. It was the look of an officer trying to find a way to file a report that wouldn't end up with a massive investigation or a 'Section 8' for the officer involved. After everyone left the briefing room, Hammond set his face in his hands. Some days retirement looked very seductive, and some days you couldn't pay him enough to do the job he had come to love. He wasn't sure quite how he was going to write this one up, but he was glad to have his people back. The mercenaries were as efficient as any convert ops unit he had ever seen, and the back of his neck crawled to think of how they became that good.  
  
****  
  
"Can I see her?" asked Daniel. Janet had no doubt which 'her' was being referenced.  
  
"Yes, she should be awake. The wipe out shook her up some, but she'll be okay. I want her to stay close by for the next seventy-two hours, just to make sure."  
  
"I'll make sure she does," the earnest man assured her as he headed into the infirmary with a determined stride. Janet definitely did not envy the young woman Jackson was headed for.  
  
****  
  
Phantom looked up as someone sat across from her in the commissary.  
  
"OK, spill," said O'Neill by way of greeting.  
  
"Spill, Colonel?"  
  
"Yeah, how did you end up as the retrieval team? I would have expected an SG team, not freelancers."  
  
"Two SG teams were sent after you," she said quietly, "They were wiped out. No survivors. One did make it back here, but died within half an hour. Frasier called Raven and told her your unit was being held by hostiles. We owed you from that fiasco a few years back, so here we are." Phantom just shrugged and went back to her coffee. Colonel O'Neill was a handsome man, and his graying hair just added to his rakish image. If she weren't careful, Phantom would be in danger of getting too interested in this man.  
  
"What I don't understand is this: how did the doc know how to find you?" asked Jack. He watched Phantom closely. //What is it with blonds? // he thought. //First Carter and now this one. At least with Carter, I know where I stand. //  
  
"South America, six years ago. That blue crap in the wind stays in the blood. Specialists can find the marker," she answered. "Raven committed an info breach after the accident, we didn't stick around for the sequel. Frasier remembers way too much."  
  
"Sweet." The two of them continued to drink their coffee, each lost in their own thoughts.  
  
****  
  
"So, you're a mercenary?" asked Daniel. His voice was soft, just above the sound level of the monitor hooked up to Raven, and deceptively calm.  
  
Raven couldn't bring herself to look Daniel in the face. She couldn't bear the look of hurt and betrayal she knew hovered in the gentle blue eyes. "Yes. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you," she answered. "I wanted to tell you, but we keep it as quiet as possible for the children's safety."  
  
"You were the ones who stopped that bus hijacking a few months back?"  
  
"Yeah, that was us. The twins were on that bus; I couldn't ignore that. The pictures they had from that trip are what sent me to Colorado Springs with custody papers. You and Colonel O'Neill were in the background of one of the shots." Raven leaned back into the bed and closed her eyes. She was so tired. Opening her eyes, she looked into the thoughtful ones of Daniel Jackson. Hopefully, this contract wouldn't clear her debt to Jack O'Neill at the cost of her relationship with Daniel.  
  
"Get some rest," Daniel said, tracing her face with a feather-light touch. "We'll talk later. Janet says you have to stay close for at least seventy-two hours. I'll stop by in a little while."  
  
****  
  
George Hammond sat in his office, typing up his report on the events of the past few days. Once he had saved the report and sent it to the printer, he sat back in his chair. //Some days just feel longer than others// he thought. In the space of just over two weeks, the SGC had lost three entire units, almost lost a fourth, and taken the unprecedented step of hiring mercenaries to retrieve one of their teams. He wondered if there had been one truly normal day since he had accepted this post instead of retiring.  
  
Too restless to remain sitting, Hammond stepped over to the briefing room and stared out the observation window at the cause of it all. Looming quietly in the cavernous room below him was the Stargate. An alien piece of technology found at a dig on the Giza Plateau in the early years of the 20th Century, it created a wormhole that his people used to travel to distant planets. He huffed a little as he realized his thoughts were starting to sound like a science fiction television series.  
  
Reflecting on the last twelve hours, Hammond realized that he was going to need to replace at least some of the people he had lost against the latest System Lord. Briefly, he considered seeing if the White Ravens were interested in the job. //George// he thought to himself //now you REALLY know you need a vacation. Even if they'd accept, you'd never get it passed through channels. Besides, they would always be a wildcard. // Within their own group, their discipline and loyalty were absolute, everyone agreed on that point. Outside their group, however, their loyalty was questionable. He knew that they would follow his orders as long as their leader, Raven, told them to, other than that, they obeyed her and no one else. Shaking his head at the foolish turn his thoughts had taken, Hammond returned to his office to begin the process of looking for replacements to his lost people, even as he started to plan the memorial service the SGC would hold for its fallen comrades. //I think I need a drink. //  
  
****  
  
"Quit arguing, Andi," groused Nikki. She was settling Andi into a bed in the spare room at Daniel's apartment.   
  
When the doctor had found some evidence of delayed reaction to her injuries, Andi was ordered on bed rest and no travel. Daniel had offered his spare room for her recovery. Without discussing it with Andi, Nikki agreed. Now that the cat had been let out of the bag, the two of them needed to talk and this would be their best chance. Nikki saw this as fulfilling her duty as both a second and a friend. She knew that if the two of them didn't work this out, they would always regret it.  
  
"So, how's it going?" asked Jack as he poked his head around the doorjamb. He figured this was like leaving a lit match in a room full of rocket fuel, but was willing to go along if it helped his friend deal with everything that had happened lately. At Nikki's nod, he headed back to the kitchen to help Daniel with the groceries.  
  
****  
  
"Are you going to survive this?" Jack asked as he entered the room where Daniel was putting away the results of the trip to the market.  
  
"Why shouldn't we?" asked Daniel in return, without looking at his friend.  
  
"Well, it is a bit much to find out the mother of your children is the highest paid gun for hire in the world. That's got to take some getting used to."  
  
"Yeah, some. What's almost harder to take is the fact that you knew and didn't tell me."  
  
Jack winced at that. He had known about Cassandra's connection to the White Ravens, but hadn't told Daniel about it. Now, he wasn't sure if that had been a good idea or not. He thought briefly back to pieces of that conversation in the hospital commissary when the White Ravens had crashed back into his life, literally.  
  
^^^^^  
"So, Phantom, you guys going to pull a disappearing act with Danny's kids?" drawled Jack as he leaned against the doorjamb.  
  
By the way," she said as she tossed the dregs of her coffee into the trash can, "don't use any of the Raven company names, would you? We keep that part of who we are strictly private in order to keep the kids safe. Andi's and others."  
  
^^^^^  
  
He also thought about a conversation he had with Nikki before they returned to Canada.  
  
^^^^^  
  
"She's gonna have to tell Daniel eventually," he said over coffee at a local café. "He's already got serious trust issues where family's concerned. If she doesn't tell him, it's going to hurt a number of people."  
  
"I know how you feel. Sometimes, I think she should tell him. But think about it, how would he take it if he hears this before they have a chance to get to know each other again? Well?" Nikki drummed her fingers on the table impatiently. "Well?" After another brief pause she caustically remarked to Jack, "I thought so."  
  
"I guess so, but I still think he should know."  
  
"He probably will, eventually. Things are just shaky right now, what with the accident and everything. Give them some time to get acclimated to the fact that he's not dead and she didn't dump him. Okay?" Nikki looked at him over the rim of her cup.  
  
"Okay, but just for now. If something happens where I think he really needs to know, I'll make a judgment call. That's all I can promise." The two of them left the shop to walk over to the park where Daniel and Cassandra had taken the twins for the day. Walking up to the group, Jack saw what he missed since the death of his own son. A family just enjoying the day and each other. Watching them, Jack decided that, for the time being, he'd keep silent. He just hoped he wasn't going to regret it.  
  
^^^^^  
  
Realizing that Daniel had turned around and was watching him closely and waiting for an answer, Jack pulled himself out of his reverie.  
  
"Yeah, well, that's not something that's easy to bring up in everyday conversation," Jack stared at the table, unable to meet his friend's steady gaze. "I can see it now. 'Daniel, could you pass the ketchup, and by the way, your girlfriend makes her money killing other people.' I don't think so, Danny. Besides, they insisted it was her responsibility and made me promise to keep quiet. I agreed because you were just getting to know her and your kids, I didn't want to ruin that before you had a chance to make it work."  
  
"You did have a perfect opening," persisted Daniel as he handed Jack some cans to put in the cabinet. "When the kids did so well at the shooting gallery that night at the carnival. Would have fit in perfectly. 'Well, Daniel, they're really good at shooting targets because their mom shoots people for a living.' That would have worked."  
  
Jack paused in putting the cans away and didn't answer; he felt he didn't have a good enough one.  
  
After all the groceries were loaded, Jack and Nikki left Daniel's apartment. Both were hoping for the best for their friends.  
  
****  
  
Later that evening, Daniel sat in a chair in his spare room while his guest ate the light meal he had prepared. He had been trying to find a way to bring up the topic of the White Ravens again without immediately starting an argument. Since Jack had left, Daniel had been thinking about what his friend had said. As much as he hated to admit it, Jack was probably right. If he'd known about Andi's career when she had reappeared in his life, he probably wouldn't have wanted to take the time to know her again and it wasn't as if he hadn't been keeping secrets from her. She could be just as angry with him about keeping the SGC from her as he was about her keeping quiet about the Ravens. Now, he realized that she had never really been far from his heart. The trick was going to be reconciling who the two of them had been to who they were now.  
  
"Thanks, Daniel. Dinner was delicious." Andi looked up from the tray on her lap to the man who sat in a chair across from her. She was dreading a continuation of the discussion they had started in the infirmary the day before. She knew her tone was almost coldly formal, but she was trying to find a way to distract him from picking up that particular topic. Daniel took a deep breath and appeared to be preparing the opening salvo of the next round, but was stopped from making further comments by the ringing of the phone. He looked closely at the woman in his guest room and left the room to answer. He returned shortly with a somewhat confused look on his face, holding out the phone to her.  
  
"It's for you. It's the twins' school, but they won't talk to anyone but you." He handed the phone to her, never taking his eyes from her face.   
  
"Yes? This is she," Andi said into the phone. As various expressions, none good, ghosted across her face, his unconsciously mirrored them.  
  
A few moments later, the receiver fell from her nerveless hand to the floor. Daniel dashed to scoop up the receiver. He had wanted to ask what happened, but the school had already hung up. Dreading what she might be about to say, Daniel raised his gaze to hers. Andi looked at Daniel with eyes full of worry and anger.  
  
"Daniel?" her voice broke. "It's the children, they're missing." As she started to break down, Daniel sat on the bed and held her. Together, they wept for their missing children, both silently vowing to find whoever had done this and exact justice.  
  



End file.
